Wracked with angst over the fate of our beloved and horribly misgoverned Republic, the DiploMad returns to do battle on the world wide web, swearing death to political correctness, and pulling no punches.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

"What Difference Does it Make?"

Sorry for the long gap in posting. I had a technical issue with the blog, i.e., I couldn't remember my password, and couldn't log on to write a post. In addition, of course, I watched that Hillary performance on the Hill re Benghazi, and, well, I was left stunned and speechless. There was so much wrong, dishonest, craven, brazen, and downright disgusting in Hilary's performance that I am still having a hard time commenting on it. Ever since Joseph Welch's line to Senator McCarthy in 1954, "Have you no sense of decency?", lib-lefties keep looking to replicate that little piece of faux outrage. The Benghazi testimony was Hillary's chance, and she clearly decided that her "At this point, what difference does it make?" line would be her Joseph Welch moment. Judging from the media's acceptance and even applauding of this little piece of theater, it would appear that Hillary calculated correctly. She has gotten away with her horrid mismanagement and leadership of US foreign policy. We are instructed to forget about Benghazi, and the delusional policies that paved the road to it. The liberals are busily talking about President Hillary Clinton--and to be fair she has demonstrated the requisite amount of incompetence and deception to be a viable candidate for the Democrats.You have to hand it to the lefties. They are brazenly honest about their dishonest plans. All the famous lefties have been open about their intentions: Lenin and Hitler certainly hid nothing, and today's little lefties hide nothing. Obama's statement about "You didn't build that," the DNC proudly proclaiming "Government is the only thing to which we all belong," and now Hillary's "What's the difference?" have a long tradition that relies on the opposition's inability to understand honest crookedness. They are so arrogant and so confident that nobody will call them out, that they enjoy telling us openly how they will take away everything we value. To the matter at hand. There is so much wrong with what Hillary said that I can only cover a few points. Her whole attitude was one of taking a victory lap. She is leaving the State Department, and she ran out the clock on Benghazi. Her phrase "At this point" sums it up. The steam has gone out of the issue, and the tactic of delay, obfuscation, and deception has worked; the administration has eluded responsibility for a major foreign policy disaster of criminal proportions. They did it before with "Fast and Furious" and they have done it again. State's Accountability Review Board report, of course, was a whitewash; it was a carefully worded truce between Chicago and Foggy Bottom. It avoided dealing with the fundamentals of the Benghazi disaster, i.e., the foreign policy of this administration, and, in exchange, the bureaucrats were not held responsible for the decisions they took in implementing that foreign policy. Nobody was to blame for anything. As a lawyer, Hillary must know how absurd her line "what is the difference?" sounds. Here we have an administration that insists on treating acts of terror against Americans as criminal matters, e.g., call in the FBI to "the crime scene," yet here we have the Secretary of State saying it really makes no difference what motivated the "criminals" or whether the "crime" was premeditated and planned in conjunction with others. More important, however, if it made no difference why did the administration send out that horrid political hack Susan Rice to lie about it all? To blame it on a video? Where was Hillary? Why wasn't she out front telling us all on the Sunday talk shows that it made "no difference?" Why have Rice lie?It, of course, "does make a difference." If the attack was a well-planned one, who planned it? Were any foreign states involved? Why didn't our intel pick it up? If it was a spontaneous event, why didn't it occur to anybody at State or in the Embassy in Libya that the date of September 11 was a particularly propitious one for such "spontaneous" events? Why was Stevens in Benghazi on September 11? Why was that facility still open when the security situation in the city had been deteriorating rapidly? The questions just pour forth; you can think of dozens more.I have written many times before about the idiocy of our policy in Libya and North Africa (see my archives), and won't repeat all that. Let me just say that hearings did not explore the biggest issue of all. What did the administration think would happen in North Africa once Mubarak and Qaddafi were removed?Hillary got away with it. She put on the typical lefty show of mock outrage, weepiness, blaming others, e.g., "not enough money," and brazen dishonesty. It worked. We most likely will not hear much more about Benghazi or how it forms an integral part of the larger foreign policy disaster we see unfolding before our eyes.

49 comments:

Hillary Clinton got away with her brazen dishonesty for two reasons: (1) The MSM has decided to become nothing but a pack of shills for the O's administration and (2) the stupid Republicans couldn't be a little more relentless in their pursuit of what happened.

I'm reminded that Shrillary's "lost" box of documents related to the Whitewater scandal resurfaced just after the statute of limitations ran out. Of course the MSM did no reporting, and the Democrats correctly counted on the public having a short memory. And I inwardly groan that that woman will probably be anointed as the first female POTUS. This I look on with dread, since Shrillary's comments in the immediate aftermath of the Benghazi killings indicated that she views the public with contempt, and insinuated that our First Amendment rights are just too dangerous to be left lying around where the yokels might use them.

Certainly the media fails in providing any objective assessment of what King O does... but as Kepha points out - our elected congress critters are no better than a herd of cats. They make lots of noise when they want us to think they are on the prowl but spend most of the day sleeping.

I would add a little nuance here. The MSM is owned by the very corporatists (fascists?) that own the President, Senate and Congress. These same individuals make sure that the rules are made for their benefit; screw the rest of us! With this in mind, one has to ask what is really going on in North Africa and the Middle East. And you can guarantee that that fat pig in a pantsuit is benefitting handsomely from what is really going on.

They have not gotten away with it. Oh, with the MSM it seems that way, but "What difference does it make" will not be forgotten. There will be an accounting for all this and it will be terrible. Reality does not leave account receivables open for long.

What is the chance that someone deep in the State Department will be so disgusted with all this that a deep leak will occur to blow these issues open again, and to help prevent a run at the presidency by her highness?

I know, it's pathetic to even have to hope for such a thing, but when all other normal checks and balances have gone missing, what else does one have to hope for?

Seeing Hillary ask "what difference does it make" proves that the liberals' are lying. About fairness. I mean, where the hell's the fairness in allowing Hillary to skate on this? Or be elected POTUS? Totally unfair. . .

Regarding "What difference does it make?"*.... We could use that reference regarding so many events in history, and it might not sound as casual when Shrillary referring to the death of 4 Americans.*Hereinforth written as W.D.D.I.M.?

W.D.D.I.M.? -- That six million Jews were burned up like so much waste refuse during the 1940's?

W.D.D.I.M.? -- That these bodies (all part of God's world) were stripped of golf fillings and hair to "help" the homeland before they were burned?

W.D.D.I.M.? -- That some of these bodies were actually 'rendered' down to produce fat to be used for the "cause" of the homeland.

W.D.D.I.M.? -- That unarmed troops were shot up like so many targets in Fort Hood by a crazed radical American Muslim?

W.D.D.I.M.? -- That the abovementioned crazed Muslim (still an American Major) continues to defy a direct order to shave -- and gets away with it? I mean, hello, sit on the b***ard and force shave him! My better half had to obey lots of orders he didn't particularly agree with or like, but he did it because he raised a hand and swore to obey his commanders.

How much longer will we, the American people, tolerate this nonsense? Let's hold our politicians accountable. Get in touch with them, let them know what you think. If they're not listening, VOTE THEM OUT. And let them know that your vote is no longer for them.

As far as the media goes, contact the advertisers. Tell them, "I see you advertise on /some network/. I don't like their politics, because you advertise there, I will no longer be buying your products."

If we get enough people to take being a citizen seriously, we can turn things around. But you have to be involved.

From my vantage point, everything you have mentioned would have worked TWENTY YEARS ago. The river of time removes opportunities not acted upon - placing them out of reach. Eight years of Clinton, eight years of GW Bush and eight years of Obama - after TWENTY-FOUR years of corrupt or lackadaisical rulers, just where do you think the pivot point of American freedom and liberty will rest?

RULERS is the correct term, regardless of election results. Bush was so dishonest that he couldn't even name the enemy of America during his years at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (pssst -- George, they're Muslims) Bush did give us the Patriot Act though - along with the TSA. Thanks George, anything for Peace & Safety, right? The two watchwords of a society bathing daily in the slime of fear and cowardice. Now they want to take away a persons ability to defend themselves - pump up the fear and let the cowards whine.

America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea.

So you want to VOTE the Obaminions & corruptocrats out of office, eh? What's your plan when other Statists arise in their stead - a conservative Strongman would be just as corrupt as this Marxist turd we have now?

Based on the last election, I have to question if the voter box works at all. Society has devolved. Cult of personality thrives. How else can we explain the overwhelming dissatisfaction with congress and the never ending re-election of the same cast of clowns? Newt was right. We (as a nation) need term limits for Senators and Congressmen. When the court overturned term limits the process to amend the constitution should have begun.

c w swanson; perhaps you think that we still have honest career government employees who would serve to get the truth about the actions of this administration out to the public at the cost of their careers. I think that in this economy, where jobs are hard to come by for everyone, we no longer have career FSOs; we have [cover our ass for the sake of our] career FSOs.

OldAFSarge, I understand your point, but I no longer have confidence that the American people are aware of what they are about to lose. Here is an example: how many millions of Americans stand in lines like cattle being herded for branding in airports all across this nation on a daily basis, knowing, KNOWING that they are doing so while abdicating their Forth Amendement rights. These are not people who have criminal records, or are even suspected of being guilty of a criminal action, yet they subject themselves to the actions of an undertrained, arrogant TSA agent who will search them without a warrent, including searching their private body parts, an action that would get any cop accused of sexual molestation, allow those same TSA agents to search their children, putting their hands in the panties of some little four year old girl. Millions of Americans, daily, forfeit their Fourth Amendment rights in the name of some false sense of security.

Tell me; did you think that would have even been possible 15 years ago?

Yes, Hillary got by with her lies and obfuscations. Just like Obama will skate on the deaths of hundreds of foreign nationals and at least two Americans because of Fast and Furious. There will be no accountability, no heads will roll, no one will be punished and Hillary, and that slug Leon Panetta, will leave with their reputations in tact.

Today, I have been watching a program called Vietnam in HD. Right this minute they are showing John Kerry's testimony in front of the Senate where he sold out his nation with a pack of lies. Has he ever been held accountable? No, and as a reward for his traitorous actions, he is our next Secretary of State.

The lie that the Benghazi attack was due to an obscure video that no one in this country had ever heard of was sold to an uninformed populace. The Administration knew it was a lie, and they even claimed that it was the video that facilitated the protests in Cairo on the same day, knowing that too, was a lie.

Nick Robertson, a reporter with CNN, interviewed the brother of Al Zawahiri in Cairo on 9/11/2012 along with the brother of the Blind Sheikh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPszLCEyu-I

Does either one of those jihadists mention anything about a video?

No, but in keeping with CNN's policy of supporting this Administration no matter how unconstitutional the actions of Obama may be, that interview was never aired. Are we to think that the Administration did not know about that interview knowing that CNN is in constant contact with the White House?

We are entering very dark days and those days will not end in four years when Obama leaves the Oval Office. The damage he will do in the next four years to our nation will resonate for generations. Perhaps we are truely seeing the beginning of the end of our representative republic.

The news from the leftist/socialist/marxist machine of low infromation losers just gets worse, apace. Just on Fox News a few minutes ago, is this asylum worthy piece. Change.org has people churning for not only a nobel peace prize for shrillary, but even deeper into the asylum, for billy clinton as well. Why stop there, let's all sponsor all of us as well, because we write great points, well, and are sentient beings, too. Norway will get a thrill up its collective legs, I'm sure, just at the thrill of contemplating an award to someone who isn't doing the drone thing.

Nobel peace prize for hillary and william clinton, how trite, how absurd, how mentally retarded will people become. See islam, who with brilliant mentors like Ben Kingsley and NatGeo, have developed through advanced 1001 innovation of science, a finger chopping machine, of late. No doubt also a nobel prize candidate, under adjusted lower information people standards....sarc/off

"Once upon a time in America", you had to do something useful and big and recognized, and good, like perhaps a successful business, science development, a great book, heroism, a great Patriotic Speech, something worthy and recognizable, to earn a reward or acclaim!

Dear Dip,I am sorry you lost your password. After hearing Hillary's lies I forgot the name of one of my ranches, the name of our cattle brand, and our first born child. In fact seeing her respond with what difference did it make, nearly caused me to come unglued.

Crass inane media we have on our hands or all this would have been on trial in the public, if it had been during Nixon's years but no longer. The Statist run politik media are running on orders.

We will see where this all leads. It does not change my trust in God, the faith in my countrymen in fly over states, and our military men and women, who truly are our heroes. I must remain stalwart of heart because of our son serving. He leaves again soon on another mission to somewhere for several months. We will keep his wife and children loved and distracted with our attention, to pass the time when he is gone. And I pray. Oh, how I pray. And I believe God will hear. I close with one thing. If this administration doesn't strengthen our personal prayer life with God, it should.

Don't lose that password. Your insight and stories keep many of us encouraged. You should know that. And our ability to respond is an outlet that is positive and eases our collective pain. So, thank you......The East Texas Rancher

"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

"The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.

"He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them.

"He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. (1 Samuel 2:6-9 NASB)

I am very afraid that we are in the twilight of American life. I have trust in God but I also am aware that he is a holy God and at some point he will judge us for what we have not done and what we have done. The just will not escape this punishment since in truth we are part of the problem. We need to be more concerned about what God thinks about us than what those here on earth think about us. As was said today-we need to be intolerant of that which is against God's will and word. If the church could do that we might have a chance.

jib, I'm another for whom Jefferson's "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God if just" is not just a string of high-sounding words. As for Anonymous' quoting the Song of Hannah from First Samuel, I must admit it's another of those passages that make me tremble.

re: "The just will not escape this punishment since in truth we are part of the problem."

There are no 'big men' on the face of this earth, even the best of us are abject failures - all have fallen short, all have missed the targets bulls-eye. Yet there is hope. America? Yes, a time of judgement appears to be at hand, but still there is hope for the individual. Correction happens to both individuals as well as entire societies. Think of how horrible the child becomes without correction - correction instructs.

Has America failed in her assigned obligations/duties? I think not. Perfection, all things to be just/wholesome, is not possible on this Earth - just look what there is to work with - thee & me! Sad as that is, the intent/attempt to do good (Godly works) has been replicated thousands of times in the past 250 years of our republic - with some amazing results. With correction comes growth - but correction is needful. The following passage, is it applicable to America's situation? In principle displaying the mercy of God I believe it is. Israel was a very rebellious self-willed nation/people - but the Lord knows how to correct in a way to get everyone's attention. Jonah was sent to Ninevah and they were given a season to turn - and they did, for a season. Only the Lord can see around corners - but he looks with mercy to those who turn back. Not everyone who went to Babylon stayed there when Cyrus told them to go home - some returned to Jerusalem. Enough to rebuild. What more do we need, other than 'enough'? There is hope, but not in my own strength or my own works.

"For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore..." (Jeremiah 29:10-14a NASB)

Oh I have no doubt that on an individual level there will be people who will turn but barring something truly catastrophic I don't see large numbers of people in the American churches turning back to God in large numbers. Could be wrong and we might have a Third Great Awakening but if you want to use Israel as an example-look at what they went through to get back to the promised land:scattered by Assyria for the northern Kingdom and 70 years of captivity and slavery for the southern kingdom. There are too many in our churches who are fans of Jesus not really followers: they like a little Jesus on Sunday and maybe a midweek service but there really is no impact in the rest of their life. We have people at both ends of the spectrum-those who are correct in hating the sin but then end up hating the sinner too and those who are correct in loving the sinner but end up validating the sin under the guise of compassion. And could not we claim that the First and Second Awakenings were our Ninevah moments? The passage that you listed is ultimately really only true of Israel. While certainly the Scriptures you quote can be applied to our country or any other country I would note that there has only ever been one covenant nation with God and that is Israel.

re: " The passage that you listed is ultimately really only true of Israel. While certainly the Scriptures you quote can be applied to our country or any other country I would note that there has only ever been one covenant nation with God and that is Israel."

My heart smiled when I read those last two sentences! The promise was to Israel, and He's still fulfilling that covenant promise - even today! (That's right Esau, you sold your inheritance!)

Yes, it is towards Israel - but the point I was attempting to bring out is that the character of God does not change. Ask the Centurion about his servant or the daughter of the Syrophenician women who ate the crumbs from the Master's table. LOL Ask that heathen woman called Ruth who was faithful to her mother-in-law and is in Christ's linage. God is merciful. Truely, the just shall live by faith. The Lord is full of mercy, sparing thousands upon thousands who turn to him. There is hope for both the individual and ultimately for the nation - but correction appears just around the corner.

Thankfully, only the Lord can see around corners - not me - or I'd be scared half to death. I rest and trust in the knowledge of who I am and who He is.

"It, of course, "does make a difference." If the attack was a well-planned one, who planned it? Were any foreign states involved? Why didn't our intel pick it up? If it was a spontaneous event, why didn't it occur to anybody at State or in the Embassy in Libya that the date of September 11 was a particularly propitious one for such "spontaneous" events? Why was Stevens in Benghazi on September 11? Why was that facility still open when the security situation in the city had been deteriorating rapidly? The questions just pour forth; you can think of dozens more."

It was more about Republican incompetence at the hearing than Hillary getting away with it. Why didn't they ask these questions? Why didn't they pin it down on Obama? Why didn't they ask these questions before the election? You want her to voluntarily give you all the answers when nobody, not even the republicans are asking tough and probing questions? On what planet does that happen? It is ridiculous to hang it all on Hillary's head when Obama gets off the hook. Hillary is of course benefiting from the media bias and their drooling devotion to Obama.

The Senate Republicans do not want the truth about the Benghazi "consulate" to get out any more than their Democrat colleagues or the Obama Administration does. They are all owned by the banks and multinational corporations.

I figure the Truth will come out - figure it'll be "about" 15, maybe 20 years. I'm thinking we'll just have to wait until a few guys retire.

Until then I think I'll be operating under the hypothetical Benghazi was primarily an Agency op funneling arms to (most likely) Syria, maybe some to "friendly" merc outfits in the vicinity of Qatar - UAE.

I'll be hypothesizing further, during the confusion of the "get rid of the Margarita of the MidEast" [thanks Dip] - some of those vast arms depots facilitated by McCain, Lieberman, Bush II, Obama et al - some of the former operators noted in the Sinjar Files, took a sizeable portion of those same weapons stockpiles which were then turned on us that September 11 in Benghazi.

Some portion of the weapons travelled west, some to the southeast - to places like Mali, Somalia and even to Algeria. Some might turn up in Europe. Hypothetically of course.

I lastly hypothesize there's probably a pretty good reason (in some of our pol's minds) for allowing Hillary to snap at an unbarbed hook.

But drawing my working conclusion doesn't take anything even approaching the hypothetical - and here I don't need the MSM, FOX, Rush or Sean. Normally I'd just call this whole Arab Spring comedy of errors one thing (but that term wouldn't be tolerated very well by some) ... so allow me to use the term A Circular Firing Squad.

By gosh, Arkie, you've the makings of an FSO, methinks. I agree with your analysis, concluding it was no more than a giant "CF". Everybody including us, got it, and are getting it, in a very unpleasant manner. But of course, "what difference does it make", Hilly Baby, as long as you Hilly, come out clean, and on top, huh?

Doubt they'll ever get it right, 'till they can put people in who have integrity and intelligence, and can see the reality of who our enemy is, and know the details of the enemy's playbook manuals. It's all there on full public view.

Not an FSO Friend Jack, I ... was"ish" military in [another] life - ne'er do well far as being "diplomatic" (as my kid's Moms would surely attest - tho' miraculously we all remain bestest friends)

Well ... I can be somewhat diplomatic, I didn't type, "giant CF" for instance. Apologies ETR & Jib for Jack's acquaintance with DIAspeak.__________________________________

Jack?

It actually is "there on full public view." But it's difficult to encapsulate over a decade of Libya for a blog comment. I can give some direction for reading that can rectify that "low-info-voter" problem - alas, it's shorthand. But what I'm pasting is, if anyone wishes to follow the reasoning behind my hypotheticals, either put a kettle of tea on or ice a twelve-pack.

I'll be pasting abit of text initially [all open-source] but it'll be from the final link I'll be pasting:

"While many Islamist players decided to run for election within the legal guidelines, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Watan, some others – above all in eastern Libya – remain in the grey area between political activism and militant action. Most notably, a new group has emerged in eastern Libya over the past few months, called “the Sheikh Omar Abd al-Rahman Brigade” (named for the Egyptian Sheikh imprisoned in the United States for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing). ...

"Ex LIFG fighters were soon numbered amongst the most important players in the revolution. These fighters, above all those who had gained previous experience in other war theaters such as Afghanistan, the Balkans, the northern Caucasus and Iraq, were particularly efficient and effective in carrying out military operations. ...

"However, it is worth noting that a new group in the east, the Shaykh Omar Abd al-Rahman Brigade, is acting according to more general al-Qaeda precepts, primarily attacking targets associated with the far enemy and finding motivation in issues not strictly associated with the ongoing political situation in Libya."

And now for some extensive reading - grab a cup of green tea.

For the ultimate background (apologies to the "everybody blame O crowd"):

The whole hearing was a clown show brought to you by the republicans...It was painful to watch.So many times I wished our elected reps to slap their hands on the desk and say "Hey! I asked you a question. I expect you to answer it!"Unfortunately, the Repubs were so inept that they didn't even have the questions...

Was amb Stevens body autopsied? If so, what was the cause of death? (because I think he was beaten and sodomized to death rather than smoke inhalation.)Rather early on, it was reported that several persons escaped from the fighting. Where are they and, we would like to interview them. (I assume that the survivors that were reported to have made it to Tripoli were spooks and wormed their way back into the woodwork, never to be heard from again. (At least until they leave the service and get a book deal.)Who was the Turkish person that last saw Amb. Stevens alive and what was his business with him?

The level of incompetence of our elected officials just amazes me. We, the American people, voted for these people?????

And as a critique of the Dip... I expected you to go into much more detail. Sorry you lost your password.

Best sources inform me the Turk was Consul General Ali Sait Akin. (Anyone familiar with the Turkish or the Kurd language to help me with that "Akin" name?) seems weird for some reason. I never heard that name at Deniz Kuvvetleri. Missouri - but never in Turkey.

You wrote: "The liberals are busily talking about President Hillary Clinton--and to be fair she has demonstrated the requisite amount of incompetence and deception to be a viable candidate for the Democrats...."

You are correct, only I wonder if it isn't at least partially fair for the Democrats to say Republicans circled the wagons around Bush when he misled the American people. Conservatives and liberals will disagree as to where Bush misled the American people but if conservatives are honest, we will acknowledge Bush and his people did mislead us.

I am a member of our regional radio talk show's facebook page. I believe there are nearly 400 members. (Somewhere between 300 and 400.) A regular caller on the program posted this piece earlier. He reads this site and it looks to be a good one. Our talk show host asked me the same question - he's been a strong and consistent Bush-supporter - so I will paste what I wrote in response. I've got more if you wish. I would like to see how honest you are syd B. Please advise where you think I am wrong. I am a forty plus year registered Republican; former party activist. I consider my self an "independent" conservative. I voted for Bush in 2000. In 2004 I turned the president's page:

President Bush covered for his Saudi Wahhabi friends' complicity in the 9/11 attacks. He told the American people the Saudis are our friends. They are not. He did not so much mislead as he betrayed our only reliable friend in the region when he cut a secret deal with (then) Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, late August 2001. Abdullah invited Yasser Arafat to Riyadh to see the two page Bush letter. Bush then announced his pledge to Abdullah in the form of a "vision" for yet another Muslim-terror state in the region early October 2001, only days after the 9/11 atrocities. "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was naive if not dishonest. (Can you imagine FDR calling our push into Germany "Operation German Freedom?" Or Truman, the bombing of Hiroshima, "Operation Japanese Freedom?") Bush misled the American people about Islam, calling it a religion of peace; the "terrorists" being traitors to their faith. They are nothing of the sort. Bush and his administration mislead the public about Israel, intimating Jews illegitimately "occupy" Muslim land when they don't; a lie Obama now propagates. Bush sought to democratize Muslim countries we occupied when smarter people advised him of the folly of the policy. Is it any wonder Americans elected Barack Obama? Obama is furthering Bush's ill-advised democratization scheme. Egypt, Libya, spilling over into Mali, etc., are the fruit of it.

I'm not sure I agree with your characterizations Steve. Perhaps limited insofar as a President is the "public face" of policy, and generally the person who appears on TV to lay out the case to the American citizenry.

While it is true the Bush family has had decades long relationships with the Saudis, I think I'd probably differentiate the personal from the policies.

I'm frankly of the opinion that most if not all of which you assert in your final paragraph rather than having Bush himself as the author - more likely is the case the true authorship should be "gifted to" guys like Rumsfeld, Feith, Wolfowitz and Cheney.

It takes a long time to set those sorts of policies up - GW I don't think served enough time in DC to pull off all you you present.

Arkie, are you suggesting former president Bush was either a puppet of Rumsfeld, Feith, Wolfowitz and Cheney (Dr, Rice?), or that he was somehow not responsible for his own policies and deceptions he propagated about our friends and enemies alike? I hope that is not what you are suggesting.

It is just very difficult to accept the degree of corruption behind that regime, and especially that smiling angry face of die neue fueher, hillary, and her soulmate. The ones who created this, and more, by unleashing the fury of the devil:

Thankfully a holding action, of sorts, at Fordham, but White House corruption shows again, while they figure out what to do or say, about their buddies in iran, and what to do about their "ally" Israel sarc/off, may G-d Bless her! :

Note: White House still can't believe it, just can't believe it. It was iran, the republican guards, a totally secure nuke production outfit, underground, absolutely controlled, no one can do any wrong in iran, no one. Everyone believes, and everyone is happy. And, and, no scientists were ever assasinated in iran either, hmmmmm. And no one dare talk about it either anywhere. Hmmmmmm.

"What difference does it make?" Hillary's testimony was part and parcel of the greater Administration narrative about the attack in Benghazi, which includes the questions you posed, plus "what relief was available to the besieged facilities"? "Why wasn't anyone dispatched to help?" "Did our diplomats ask for help?" "Who decided/neglected to send help?" and on and on. Our colleagues and their famlies deserve much better than this craven character's feigned indignation. How many minutes after her little outburst was she joshing and laughing with the sycophants on the Dem side? Shame.

About Me

W. Lewis Amselem, long time US Foreign Service Officer; now retired; served all over the world and under all sorts of conditions. Convinced the State Department needs to be drastically slashed and reformed so that it will no longer pose a threat to the national interests of the United States.